GO SET A WATCHMAN BY: HARPER LEE

Go Set A Watchman is a continuation of the story To Kill A MockingBird.
This story takes place when Jean Louise -"Scout"-Finch, returns home from New York City to visit her aging father Atticus. Through this visit she learns more about her family and uncovers truths, but most importantly learns more about herself as well.

HENRY AND JEAN LOUISE//CONTRASTS AND CONTRADICTIONS

• Henry picks up Jean Louise from the train station
• Henry wants to someday get married to Jean Louise, but she would rather be with him without being married.
• She doesn't want to get married because she doesn't want to be dependent on someone.
• We see the mature attitude of Henry and the still probablmic immature attitude from Jean Louise.
• It helps us better understand them more by seeing how they interact to see how they truly are with one another.

AGAIN AND AGAIN...

• Jean Louise seems to have many flashbacks throughout the story from her childhood, this indicates that something in those flashbacks/from the past, is important in the present story.
• Many of those flashbacks have to do with her brother, Jem, and when her father was healthy and well.
• And her past behavior as a reckless child.
• This makes the reader think that maybe something from her past will help her with her present situations.

MEMORY MOMENTS

• Jean Louise still recounts the times from her childhood of her brother Jem, who is now dead.
• During the story as we see her farther's health deteriorating, she recounts many flashbacks of when he was healthy and full of enthusiasm and energy.
• She recounts the weeks after her brothers death, and then in the same chapter when he was alive and well, and they were playing as children when they were younger.
• This indicates that she is missing these memories.

AHA! MOMENTS

• When Jean realizes that her father is not perfect as she once saw him when she was young.
• In that moment we see a no longer innocent Jean Louise, but we see one who has been scarred with time and experiences.
• And with this new-found knowledge she looks at her father, and realizes that he is no longer the infallible Atticus Finch, but just simply a human being.

AHA! MOMENTS (CONT.)

• "As she welcomes him silently to the human race, the stab of discovery made her tremble a little."
• One of the best moments in the book, the words were so well written you could feel the emotions pouring out of Jean, and when you read that she trembled from the emotion, you couldn't help but tremble from it too.

TOUGH QUESTIONS

• One of the most heart wrenching scene in this book, is the one that includes both Henry and Scout.
• Henry almost losing all hope with having a stable relationship with Scout, makes one last attempt to try to make her understand, by saying one of the best quotes in book writing history.
• "I've got to live here, Jean Louise. Don't you understand that?"
• These words make you feel sorry for him, like weak men and women throughout all of history, he knows he's wrong.

TOUGH QUESTIONS (CONT.)

• He knows he's wrong about being able to stay in Maycomb county, and he knows he's wrong for trying to make Scout stay with him.
• She gets to go to New York City, and do something that he's too much of a coward to admit.
• That she was the smartest out of all of them, by leaving the small city, and making a life for herself somewhere else.
• This moment sets the path for the rest of their relationship, and paves the road to the heart stopping end of the book.

WORDS OF THE WISER

• Atticus Finch tells his daughter undoubtedly the best quote in the book
• "Every man's island, Jean Louise, every man's watchman, is his conscious..."
• This quote helps Jean Louise to reflect and analyze her "relationship" with Henry, and helps her to better understand her father as well.
• In chapter 16, when Jean Louise does her explosive breakup with Henry, we see how these words affect her, and with the author's choice of words, you can't help but feel equally affected too.

GO SET A WATCHMAN